Home builders preview 2010 Showcase Home

Members of the Greater Fort Smith Association of Home Builders gathered Thursday (Oct. 7) evening for a preview party at the 2010 Showcase Home that is part of the fall Parade of Homes.

The home, at 5512 Callaway Lane in the Williamson Place subdivision in south Fort Smith, is marketed by Bradford & Udouj Realtors and was built under the supervision of Melissa and Jerry Denton.

It’s the 23rd year the association has presented a showcase home, according to Fred Kirkwood, a member of the association and director of development with Fort Smith-based Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp.

The showcase home is built through the generosity of member companies, and proceeds from the sale of the home support the association’s annual budget. The preview is also a prelude to the beginning of a Parade of Homes that features the latest in new home construction with tours of homes in several cities in the Fort Smith area.

“This continues to be a great event for the home builders association,” Kirkwood told the crowd gathered at the preview party.

Mike Callan, president of AOG, said the showcase home was recently toured by Paul Suskie, chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission. Callan said Suskie was able to see the wide range of energy efficiency appliances and construction used in the home.

“I think his eyes were opened to what we are doing here,” Callan said.

The showcase home is 2,180 square feet, with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. The $259,900 home comes with high-efficiency hot water systems, high-efficiency gas heating systems and a high-efficiency electric central system.

The Parade of Homes begins Oct. 16 and runs through Oct. 24. Homes in the show will be open Noon to 6 p.m. each day. The association is expected to soon release a map of the homes in the show.

Realtors also depend on the Parade of Homes to stoke interest in the homebuying market. That interest needs to be stoked.

The number of new and existing homes sold during August 2010 in Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties totaled 141, down 20.3% compared to August 2009, according to a report released Sept. 9 by the Arkansas Realtors Association.

Statewide, the number of homes sold during August fell 14.66% to 1,897 when compared to July 2009.

The number of new and existing homes sold during the January-August 2010 period in Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties totaled 1,242, down 2.43% over the same period in 2009. The value of the homes sold in the three counties during the first eight months of 2010 totals $158.291 million, up 2.4% compared to the same period in 2009.